


Face Your Fear (Like a Fifth Grader)

by deathishauntedbyhumans



Category: Milo Murphy's Law
Genre: Episode: s02e20 Sphere and Loathing in Outer Space, F/M, Fluff, Post-Canon, Wordcount: 100-1.000, don’t ask me why they’re eating pizza rolls i don’t have a valid answer, talking about feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 18:26:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18922603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathishauntedbyhumans/pseuds/deathishauntedbyhumans
Summary: “So are we just, like… not talking about what happened on Octalia?”“You mean the fact that we know that Murphy’s Law is universal, and that we could breathe on an alien planet, meaning that the aliens breathed oxygen like we do, or—““You kissed me on the cheek!” Zack interrupts, more loudly than he’d intended.“Oh, that,” Melissa says, and doesn’t say anything else. Instead, she snatches another pizza roll and pops it in her mouth.





	Face Your Fear (Like a Fifth Grader)

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for the S2 finale of MML (obvs).

“So are we just, like… not talking about what happened on Octalia?” Zack asks, breaking the comfortable silence between himself and Melissa. They’re sitting on Melissa’s bed, with just enough room between them to keep things casual, shovelling pizza rolls into their mouths. When Melissa had first brought the plate up, they’d made it a competition to see how many they could shove into their mouths at one time without choking.

(Melissa had won. Zack had been more than a little impressed.)

“You mean the fact that we know that Murphy’s Law is universal, and that we could breathe on an alien planet, meaning that the aliens breathed oxygen like we do, or—“

“You kissed me on the cheek!” Zack interrupts, more loudly than he’d intended. He feels his cheeks heat up from the outburst, but he doesn’t look away from Melissa, who jerks her head to the side at his outburst.

To Zack’s credit, Melissa actually blushes too. Her face goes firetruck red beneath her orange curls, and she clears her throat before pushing some fallen hairs from her face.

“Oh, that,” she says, and doesn’t say anything else. Instead, she snatches another pizza roll and pops it in her mouth.

Zack wants to scream. Instead, he takes a deep, calming breath. _No more being scared. Not of Murphy’s Law, not of aliens… and not of Melissa Chase._ “Yes, that. It feels kinda like something we should maybe talk about.”

Melissa shrugs, swallows, and then flops onto her back so that she’s staring at the ceiling instead of Zack’s face. Zack grabs the plate of pizza rolls so she doesn’t upset them with her wiggling.

“You had your arm around my shoulders,” she deflects, in the way that Melissa _always_ deflects when she wants to change the subject.

Zack knows her game, though. “Yeah, because I was excited to be coming back to Earth,” he says. He takes another deep breath, preparing to take the plunge. “And because… y’know, I like you.”

He’s glad he’s still holding the plate, because Melissa sits bolt upright and _stares,_ her jaw slack and her eyes wide. Zack swallows hard and meets her gaze steadily. _I can do this. Whatever happens can’t be worse than flying to another planet in an alien spaceship to chase a bunch of aliens that abducted my best friend._ “Mel—“

Melissa interrupts him by jerking a hand up, and for a good second, Zack is certain she’s going to punch him. He even flinches, for good measure (and _not_ because he’s afraid of getting hit). The smack he’s waiting for… doesn’t come, though.

Zack feels her hand settle on his shoulder instead, and for the first time since they’d met, her touch feels uncertain.

“You can’t just _say_ it like that,” she breathes out. Zack attempts to crack a grin.

“Why not?”

The hand on his shoulder squeezes. Melissa _laughs,_ a surprised sound. “Because, dimwit. I like you, too, but you weren’t supposed to _notice.”_

Zack hears his own breath catch, feels it in his throat. _Man,_ it’s cool to hear that out loud. Maybe that’s what Melissa means, because hearing her say it makes his head feel all floaty and his chest feel heavy and light at the same time.

“To be fair,” he says, ignoring the way his voice cracks. “I didn’t exactly pick up on it until you _kissed_ me.”

Melissa rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “Took you long enough, then.”

From another room, a door opens and closes, and muffled voices reach their ears. Milo’s voice shouts, “I’m comin’, guys!”

Melissa laughs again, softly. “We should go before Murphy’s Law kicks in. I don’t think my dad wants to deal with repainting the living room. Y’know, _again_.”

Zack nods. Before Melissa’s hand leaves his shoulder, it squeezes again… and before Zack can lose his nerve, he leans in and kisses Melissa’s cheek. He’s sure he’s blushing as he pulls back and jumps off the bed, popping the last two pizza rolls in his mouth. “Last one out is an Octalian,” he says through the mouthful.

Melissa jumps off the bed, right behind him. “You’re on,” she says somewhere near his ear, and before he knows it, she’s shoving him aside so she can get to the door first.

It’s worth not pushing her back, though, because she runs headfirst into Milo, and he gets to attack them both by piling on top of them when they fall to the floor, squealing with laughter.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos/comments are love!! Come scream at me on tumblr @deathishauntedbyhumans.


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